"We have never given up on releasing The Interview and
we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on
Christmas Day," said Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony
Entertainment, in a statement. "At the same time, we are
continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters
so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.

"I want to thank
our talent on The Interview and our employees, who have worked
tirelessly through the many challenges we have all faced over the
last month," he added. "While we hope this is only the first step
of the film's release, we are proud to make it available to the
public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress
free speech."

"The Interview" is a comedy featuring Franco and Rogen as
journalists visiting North Korea to interview dictator Kim Jong
Un. The film culminates in
the leader's fictional assassination.

Ahead of the movie's planned
release, hackers targeted Sony Pictures
Entertainment in an unprecedented
and devastating cyber attack, which led to the release of
thousands of sensitive emails of
Sony executivesand threats that the hackers would release
more if the film's release wasn't canceled.